Hour of 13 to Release Black Magick Rites on Shadow Kingdom
Last September, Hour of 13 founding multi-instrumentalist and spearhead Chad Davis let slip the info that the band’s fourth record would be released through Shadow Kingdom Records and titled Black Magick Rites. The new song “His Majesty of the Wood” also went up at that point. That announcement apparently was preface to a 24-hour limited digital release of the album on Nov. 1 — shame on me for missing it — and it seems likely that it’ll be Sept. 2021 before the album sees broader release, as Davis said, through Shadow Kingdom. Or maybe they’ll wait for Halloween. Why the hell not? It’s been nine years since 2012’s 333 (discussed here). You mean to tell me they’re gonna rush it now?
In addition to the LP sneak-peak, Davis also released the Deathly Nights EP under the Hour of 13 moniker last Fall. You can stream that as well as “His Majesty of the Wood” below, following this info from the PR wire:
HOUR OF 13 sign with SHADOW KINGDOM for long-awaited new album
Shadow Kingdom Records announces the signing of the legendary Hour of 13 for the release of their long-awaited fourth album, Black Magick Rites, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
By now, Hour of 13 should require little introduction. For the better part of two decades, mainman Chad Davis has pursued a unique and intensely personal iteration of traditional doom metal. Along the way and over the course of three albums and numerous EPs, Hour of 13 have built a formidable discography that’s amassed a fanatic following awaiting each spooky ‘n’ somber offering Davis and his rotating cast of cohorts creates. And while he’s released records for a variety of labels over the years, in between a couple breakups, Davis brings Hour of 13 back to Shadow Kingdom, who released the band’s self-titled debut album in 2007 long before the hype started.
Hour of 13’s first full-length offering in over eight years, Black Magick Rites was available digitally on November 1st, 2020 for only 24 hours. Just as uniquely, Black Magick Rites also marks the first Hour of 13 album where he handles not only all instruments, but also all vocals. Indeed, Davis’ vocals evoke an ancient nostalgia, of doom metal before it was “doom metal” – of the days when bands like Black Sabbath, Pagan Altar, and Witchfinder General simply followed their respective muses wherever it took them. And for Davis, Black Magick Rites sees him taking his Hour of 13 muse toward a rougher, more rock ‘n’ roll expression and yet tinged with an emotive melancholy that resonates deeply within the soul. No, no flavor-of-the-week “occult rock” cliches here, for Davis still prizes blue-collared authenticity in his doom, but he likewise never lets it hamper his immediately recognizable songwriting, which here ever so subtly inches closer to classic deathrock territory (think the likes of early Christian Death and Voodoo Church). Naturally, with a title like Black Magick Rites, an indulgence in occultism is expected, and you can literally feel the fingers of the black beyond reaching out to you across every electric minute of this 44-minute monolith.
Despite those isolated breakups, Hour of 13 continue to get better with age. Perfectly titled as any record in their enviable discography, Black Magick Rites is the sweet sound of salvation…through damnation.
Release date, cover art, tracklisting, and preorder info to be announced shortly. For more info, consult the links below.
https://hourofthirteen.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ShadowKingdomRecords/
http://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/
